Display device



Sept. 19, 1939. A. FREEDMAN El AL.

DISPLAY DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 23, 1936 V Albaii' Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED STATES DISPLAY DEVICE Albert Freedman, Brooklyn, and Samuel Kislevitz, New York, N; Y., assignors to Golda Freedman,

Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application December 23,1936, Serial No. 117,286 Renewed February 15, 1939 3 Claims.

This invention relates to display devices, and more particularly to those adapted to represent an article of manufacture as a beer can or the like.

The object of the invention is to provide a display device which will represent a can or the like when in display position, and which may be readily collapsed into shipping position. From the shipping or collapsed position, the display device may be placed in display position by merely moving the main members from their collapsed to their display position, all parts of the representation of the can or other article displayed acting automatically.

The invention consists of a display device having hinged main portions adapted to be placed at right angles to each other, with a replica of a can or the like, foldable and hollow, and means connected with the main portions and disposed within the hollow replica to arrange themselves in flatttened superposed position, or to hold the hollow replica in position for display.

More particularly, the invention consists of two main parts, a bottom part and a rear part, hinged together, a cylindrical hollow band resting loosely at one end of the cylinder upon the bottom part and attached along the cylindrical side to the rear part, and members hinged to the bottom and rear parts, and having circular discs of substantially the same diameter as the cylindrical band, adapted to collapse in substantially a plane when the bottom part is moved into alignment with the rear part, and adapted to be slidingly engaged by the discs within the cylindrical band to open the same from its collapsed or flattened position to a cylindrical position disposed in the bite of the rear and bottom parts, when these are at right angles to each other.

The invention will be further described and an embodiment thereof shown in the drawing, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention,

Figure 2 is a side View of the same, Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a front view with a cylindrical band removed, and

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring to. the drawing as an exemplification of a concrete form of embodiment of the invention, the rear part Ill is adapted tobe placed in a vertical position, and the bottom part H ,5 is a horizontal position. The horizontal part il acts as a stand for the device. When these main parts are placed in a position at right angles to each other, as shown in Figure 1, there is disposed in the bite thereof a replica of a can in resemblance of the present day beer cans. The top of the cylindrical portion 12 is closed by a circular top piece or disc I3, and the bottom of the cylindrical portion i2 is closed by the bottom piece H, or appears closed thereby as the perimeter of the bottom of the cylindrical portion and the bottom piece contact.

In contrast to many devices of this general kind which fold by bringing the parts together, this improved device is folded or collapsed by moving the main parts I B and II in opposite direction to each other until they are in alignment with each other.

The cylindrical portion 12 is made up of a band or piece of paper of suitable texture to withstand repeated folding along creased lines [2 thereof which are arranged diametrically opposite to each other. The band as shown in Figure 5, has its ends M and 15 substantially abut, and are joined by an adhesive to the rear part ill.

Within the cylindrical portion l2 two U-shaped members I8 and I! are disposed in opposed directions to each other. The member l6 consists of an upright !6', provided with an upper end flap l8 and a lower end flap E9. The upright I6 is provided intermediate these ends with a shoulder 20, and adjacent the shoulder, with a notch 2|. The other member ll consists of an upright 22 applied by adhesive to the interior of the cylindrical portion and also against the rear part In, and this upright 22 has two parallel discs l3 and 24, hinged to the upright 22 at 23a and 240. respectively. These discs have the same diameter as the interior of the cylindrical portion It. The upper disc I3 is applied by ad hesive to the upper end flap 18. The lower disc 24' has a slot 26 substantially the length of the upright IS, the upright l6 passing through this slot, and any shifted positioning of the disc 24 in respect to the upright I6 causes the disc 23 to engage one or the other of the notches 21, while riding on the shoulder 20.

When the bottom piece I l is moved into align ment with the rear piece 10, by moving the bottom piece in the direction of the arrow 2? in Fig, 3, then the upright I6 and the two discs move themselves substantially into a plane, and the cylindrical portion is flattened thereby. When the bottom and rear parts are moved into a posi tion at right angles to each other, then the discs are moved into a horizontal position or parallel with the bottom piece, or perpendicular with the rear piece [0.

The operation of our device is substantially automatic in that when the cylindrical portion is in position in the bite of the bottom and rear pieces, and has all the appearance of a replica of an article of manufacture, the bottom and rear pieces when moved into alignment with each other, cause the upper and lower discs to move out of contact with the interior of the cylindrical portion, and to move into a position substantially parallel with the aligned pieces, with the uprights taking a position substantially parallel with the aligned pieces. The cylindrical portion then collapses due to its own inherent resiliency along the two diametrically opposite crease lines. In this flattened condition, the device can be conveniently shipped. When it is desired to set up the device, the bottom piece is moved out of alignment with the rear piece, and towards the rear piece, the discs engage the interior of the cylindrical portion by a frictional or sliding contact, until the perimeter of the upper disc is substantially concentric with the cylindrical portion, and the lower disc acts in substantially the same way, the uprights then taking a vertical position or a position perpendicular to the bottom piece. As the friction is greater when the perimeters of the discs are in a position concentric with the cylindrical portion, than when the edges of the disc opposite to the hinged parts of the discs have sliding contact with the cylindrical portion, the display is held in expanded or upright position. Such opposite edges move in circular arcs, the hinges acting as pivots. Thus the greatest hold is obtained when the discs are at right angles to the axis of the cylinder. After this hold has been once removed, then the sliding friction of a further limited movement of the discs is discontinued, and then the collapse takes place quite automatically without the assistance of the hand of man. v

In the drawing and foregoing description a cylindrical member has been described as indicative of a beer can. This member may, however, have any shape, as rectangular, oval, hexagonal, octagonal, etc., and may represent different articles of commerce. Should a hexagonal sectional member be used, as a cube, the discs would then be hexagonal shaped. The construction may also be used in the manufacture of toys, games and other commercial products.

Having thus described our invention and the embodiments thereof, we do not wish to be limited to the particularities thereof, and desire to include such changes as may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A display device comprising a main bottom piece, a main rear piece, a cylindrical member adapted to be flattened along diametrically opposite disposed creases, one side of said cylindrical member being afiixed to the main rear piece, a U-shaped member having its end flaps formed into discs substantially of the same diameter as the diameter of the cylindrical'member, and having its upright portion afiixed to the interior of the cylindrical member to dispose said discs at verticallyspaced positions in said cylindrical memher, the lower of said discs having a slot, and a second U-shaped member having its end flaps, one secured to the said bottom piece, and one secured to the upper of said discs, and having its upright passing through the slot of the lower disc, said upper and lower discs being hinged to the upright of the first U-shaped member, said flaps of the second U-shaped member being hinged to the upright forming part thereof, and means on the upright of said second U-shaped member for engagement with the lower of said discs about the slot thereof whereby the two said discs and the said bottom piece are entrained so that upon the bringing into alignment the rear and bottom pieces, the uprights of the U-shaped members and the discs and flaps thereof are brought into a position substantially parallel with the rear and bottom pieces, when in aligned position, the cylindrical portion being flattened along its creases.

2. A display device comprising a back piece, a bottom piece hinged at one side to said back piece, a foldable strip with its ends brought together and secured along an upright line to said back piece, a member comprising spaced discs of perimeters substantially equal to the length of said strip and a connecting upright secured along the inside of said strip at the back thereof and said upright being hingedly secured to said discs to hold them in spaced relation within said strip, and a connecting member hingedly secured to said bottom piece and to the upper of said spaced discs, the lower of said spaced discs being slotted transversely to permit said connecting member to slide therethrough, said connecting member having a shoulder at the lower portion thereof extending beyond the slot in said lower disc and corresponding to the position of said connecting member in the slot when the bottom piece and said lower disc are at right angles with the back piece, and said connecting member further hav ing a notch just above said shoulder to engage the side of the slot in said lower disc whereby the upper and lower discs and the bottom piece are entrained so that when the bottom piece is swung toward the plane of said back piece the upper and lower discs are also swung to permit the said strip to collapse back against said back piece.

3. A display device comprising a back piece, a bottom piece hinged at one side .to said back piece, a foldable strip with its ends brought together and secured along an upright line to said back piece, a member comprising spaced discs of perimeters substantially equal to the length of said strip and .a connecting upright secured along the inside of said strip at. the back thereof and said upright being hingedly secured to said discs to hold them in spaced relation within said strip, and a connecting member hingedly secured to said bottom piece and to the upper of said spaced discs, the lower of said spaced discs being slotted transversely to permit said connecting member to slide therethrough, said connecting member having a shoulder at the lower portion thereof extending beyond the slot in said lower disc and corresponding to the position of said connecting member in the slot when the bottom piece and said lower disc are at right angles with the back piece, said connecting member further having a notch just above said shoulder toengage the side of the slot in said lower disc whereby the upper and lower discs and the bottom piece are entrained so that when the bottom piece is swung toward the plane of said back piece .the upper and lower discs are also swung to permitthe said strip to collapse back against said back piece, said bottom piece having a greater area than said foldable strip in extended position so that the Weight of the device rests upon said bottom piece to prevent closing of the cylinder.

ALBERT FREEDMAN. SAMUEL KISLE'VITZ. 

